The Nightmare Bridge
by Alexander2
Summary: Forte.EXE, the Outcast Navi, stumbles across a person on the net that changes his life forever. Together, they race against the clock, fight off angry rivals, and try to fend off Forte's original creator in time to save a girl's life.
1. The Nightmare Begins

Author's Notes: I'll try to make this brief. This is 'sort of' an Megaman Battle Network   
Alternate Universe fiction. I say 'sort of' because this story only uses some of the premise  
behind the games and a *FEW* characters from the series. There is no Megaman, Lan, ACDC Town,   
Wily, WWW, Mayl, etc, in this story. Hell, you don't need to know squat about the series   
to enjoy the story! However, there's still too much stuff in here for this to qualify as an   
Original Fiction, so here goes nothing. Now, all that's left is to cross into the fic, via...   
  
--- The Nightmare Bridge ---  
  
-- Chapter 1 --  
Yuzori grinned as he logged onto the Internet. Moving through the intermeshed web of hard  
servers and the invisible links between them all, it took him only a few short seconds before his  
PC had landed him at his destination. Switching his VR gear on, Yuzori took a quick view of the   
area.   
  
The surrounding area was a basic data storage server, and took the appearance of a dark   
gloomy plateau. Hundreds upon hundreds of immense spires shot into the air, creating a jagged   
landscape forever lit up by electricity and crimson lights. The place was practically abandoned,   
with not a soul in sight, giving the whole place a generally creepy feel about it.  
  
"Jeez. What's up with this place. It's deader than last night's roast beef." he griped.   
"This place is boring. Hey, Mule! Hurry it up!" He called out, waiting expectantly for his   
Guardian Navi program to appear.  
  
As the Net had evolved, it eventually became more of a virtual reality than a mere flat   
monitor could reliably provide. The increased complexity called for more complex tools to use it   
- and those tools were the Navis.  
  
Navis were a type of advanced 'browser' designed to as as a guide, guardian, and   
sometimes friend, to travelers on the Net. Vaguely humanoid in appearance, and usually with top   
of the line artificial intelligence, Navis could talk, 'think', and even learn. Yuzori's Navi,   
'Mule', was a simple model, plain, boring, and not very bright. The best were astonishingly   
bright, with some rumored to be indistinguishable from the humans using them.   
  
Even the best, however, were supposedly held back by one important restriction - the   
inability to think for themselves. Because of this, neither User or Navi could fully operate   
alone. It was a strange sort of symbiosis, one that seemed to do it's job quite nicely.  
  
"What do you need, Yuzori?" Mule asked, having a look around himself.  
  
"Scan the area for viruses. There have been some nasty rumors going around about this   
place."  
  
"Understood." Mule stood silent for a few moments. "There are several viruses nearby.   
Not many, however. I should be able to handle 88% of the Virii in the area."  
  
"The rest of them?"  
  
"Beyond my ability to delete reliably. We should be cautious." Mule stated.  
  
"That's fine." Yuzori said. "I don't think we'll need to go anywhere. If you can take   
out most of the virii here, than there's nothing that could be behind the recent string of Navi   
deletions here. Unless...Run a scan for other Navis."  
  
Mule went silent again. "None."  
  
"Grr...so much for the hunter-seeker theory."  
  
"Sir?"  
  
"All of the Navis that reported in deleted in this area were top of the line. Some of   
the world's best! And if what you say is true, than the deleted Navis should have been able to   
eat up all of those viruses for breakfast. And if it was a Navi, he obviously decided to move   
on."  
  
"Error. Navis do not eat. To contact a virus in such a way would result in severe damage   
to the Navi involved."  
  
"It's a figure of speech, stupid!" Yuzori muttered. "Come on. There's nothing we can do   
here, right now."  
  
In seconds, Yuzori and his Navi had vanished, convinced that there was nothing of   
interest left. Unfortunately for him, he could not have been more wrong.   
  
Not even a dozen 'feet' away from where the two had been standing, a single figure   
walked out from behind one of the massive pillars. Amid the bulk of the cloth, only the figure's   
head and feet poked out, and even then only barely. It could be mistaken for several other   
escentric net-travelers in a heartbeat....but the twin intimidating fins that radiaded from his   
head marked him as unique.  
  
Forte, the Outcast. The only known Navi in the world without a User, without orders, and   
without anything to do.  
  
"Another stupid Navi. Another stupid human." The Outcast spat. "Always so useless. I   
thought this place would be crawling with Navis and Users by now. I guess the stupid humans   
decided to stay away and ignore me, then."  
  
The Outcast scowled. "Those bastards aren't giving me anything to do. Why can't someone   
interesting come around for a change?! I'd finally be able to allieviate some of this boredom!"  
  
Sulking, the Navi pivoted around and began walking away from the server enterance, his   
body masking well into the shadows caused by the immence spires. Might as well take out his   
frustrations on whatever's availiable.   
  
It was slim pickings, however. In the server he had isolated himself in, there were   
almost no viruses around to begin with. No one used the server, so why would people bother to   
ruin it with viruses? Add to that the fact that Forte's Void Aura deleted all but the most   
resilient virus near him instantly, and frustration began to settle in anew. "How am I supposed   
to delete something if they are deleted before I even get close enough to do it myself!" he spat.   
  
That was when he heard the scream. A shriek of pure terror. Something you didn't usually   
hear on the net.  
  
"Sounds like some girl User got caught up with here Virus Busting!" Forte laughed.   
"Wussy human. It's odd that she would scream, though." The Outcast scratched his head. "Oh,   
what the heck. I've got nothing to do. At the very least I can delete her Navi Guardian myself."   
Pumping his fists together, he floated off of the ground and zoomed off in the direction of the   
scream.  
  
It took the skilled Outcast only seconds to find the disturbance. Looking over the   
situation, he started to laugh. He was right, it was a girl - about maybe 16 years old by his   
guess. Wearing a black school uniform of some sort, he thought to himself. His thinking was   
interupted when he saw just what was chasing the girl. 'A band of useless Metool Viruses?   
ANYTHING could delete those! How pathetic can that girl get?!' Forte thought, resisting the urge   
to laugh as the girl ran around.   
  
That was when he stopped laughing. "Where...Where is her Navi?" That confused him. He   
looked out farther, tried to find any sign of a Navi nearby. Nothing!   
  
Forte blinked. 'Maybe it's busy with a download or something...' He took a few seconds to   
scan the area, much as Mule had done, searching every nook and cranny of the server for a sign of  
the girl's Navi.   
  
Again, nothing came up.   
  
"Impossible!" Forte swore, as he closed down his hovering program and dropped like a   
stone into the thick of the Metool group. Their bodies exploded like miniature firecrackers as he  
landed, leaving the whole band a sweltering ruin.   
  
"You there! Girl! What the heck do you think you're doing?!" The Outcast called out.   
"Where's your Navi?!"  
  
The girl said nothing. She merely stared in disbelief.  
  
"Hey." Forte walked up. "I asked where your Navi was, girl! Answer me!"   
  
"I..I don't know what you're talking about..." The girl whispered.  
  
"Don't play stupid!" Forte yelled.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about!" The girl said again.   
  
I don't believe it. The girl's crying. Forte stared at the girl in absolute disbelief.   
How can she get any more pathetic?   
  
Suddenly agravated, he picked the girl up and threw her against a nearby spire.   
Electricity crackled from the spire wall as she impacted, little arcs of lightning zipping away   
like fleeing spiders.   
  
"And just what the hell are you crying about! Hey, don't curl up like that, you look   
stupid. Hey! Are you listening?"  
  
"Go away! You're hurting me! Leave me alone!" The girl screamed.  
  
"Hurting you! I'm not hurting you, and you know that! I couldn't hurt you, as much as   
I'd LIKE to right now!" The outcast roared. "You're a User, and you know as well as I do that   
VR gear can't replicate pain."  
  
"NO! It HURTS!"   
  
Now, the Outcast was never known for his patience or morals. The fact that Forte was   
the only computer program in the WORLD with a suggested criminal record pointed to that. Even   
before the argument played out, frustration had reduced it to a paper-thin line, and what with   
the girl's nonsence statements, the violent Navi's patience had finally run out.  
  
"SHUT UP!" Forte roared into the girl's face. Angrily, he pulled back an arm, letting   
one of his many combat protocols replace his lower arm with a shining steel blade. Even as it   
finished, he slashed wide, catching the girl's arm and cutting open a deep gash.  
  
The resulting scream chilled the Outcast to the core. Never in his short year of life   
had a User screamed after he deleted them. Before, sure. Happened all the time. But never after.   
Users were instantly booted from the Internet under such circumstances, removing the User's body  
from the virtual reality. There could BE no after - they were already gone. It was so easy to   
delete others, knowing that they never truly got hurt. His face went pale as he looked down...and  
saw the girl still there. No flash of light, no discorporating body, just a deep clean cut across  
the arm and pained screams slowly fading into unconsiousness.   
  
"Wh-wh-WHAT THE HELL?!" Forte screamed. "What ARE you?!" A thousand thoughts flew   
through his mind, scrambling to make themselves known and just generally overwhelming the Navi's   
processor. He was on his knees in a second, examining the wound. He recoiled at the opaque red   
fliud that flowed from the wound and began to fizzle against the ground. A red liquid, that came   
from humans...  
  
"Blood. Human blood." Forte's world cracked.   
  
'This is impossible! The girl...she's bleeding. She's bleeding! Why didn't she vanish   
like the others?!'  
  
'Wait. Why should I care? I hate humans. They made me serve them mindlessly, like a   
doll!'  
  
'This User is different! She's reacting everything as though it were real!'  
  
'The girl's just a program. Not real. Am I going to fall for a stupid human trick?'  
  
'No! She's something else. She must be!'  
  
Forte's eyes flashed for a second. 'Why am I fighting myself like this?' He wondered. She's   
nothing but a trick! A human trick! DON'T let it fool you! Forte's inner voice screamed at   
himself. His arm rose high, readying for a final strike.  
  
'DON'T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS, FOOL!'   
  
At the last instant, a surge of defiance ripped though the Outcast like a river. Forte   
collapsed backwards, banishing his weapon. He stared at the girl, and let the sudden upsurge of   
panic banish his doubts.  
  
'My robes, I can stop it with my robes...' Forte thought. Tearing off a piece of his   
cloak, he tried to tie the wound shut. Tension thick enough to be cut with a knife hovered in   
the air as the desperate Outcast attempted to close the wound as best as he could. After a few   
minutes, Forte finally succeeded in tying the arm up tight enough to hold the wound shut. He   
sighed in relief for a second, before the sudden gravity of the situation settled in.  
  
Blood. He had blood on his fingers, and he had no idea how it was possible. Yet, there   
it was.   
  
"Alone, with an injured girl who breaks every rational law I know. It's as though she   
ripped open a door in logic and reality and walked right in here, unchallenged. Yet... if I am   
to believe what she said, she has no idea how she got here, either..."   
  
Forte reached over to pick up the girl, lifted her off of the cool metal ground. "You   
ARE human...somehow. I should hate you for that. I may hate you yet. However, until the time   
comes that I know the truth about you, nameless girl from another world, I'll keep you alive."  
  
--- End Chapter 1 ---  
  
Beginning to sound like "Tron", "The Matrix", or "Lain", anyone? Believe it or not, I   
actually wrote this well before I saw either of first two movies, and I haven't even finished   
Lain yet. I have three chapters written, and plans for the fourth pretty well laid out. Don't   
worry, more will be explained later on in the story about Forte, the girl, and what's in store  
for them both. Hehe!  
  
If anyone would like to pre-read the other chapters before I release Chapter 2 next   
Monday, feel free to E-mail me. 


	2. Through the Doors

Author's Notes: Okay, due to it being convenient for me, and that I really want to anyway, I'm  
going to release Chapter 2 ahead of schedule. You all can expect Chapter 3 to be released May 19.  
Everything up to and including Chapter 4 is completed, with plans for Chapter 5 under way.  
  
I currently have no plans to add Lan and co. to the fic, because I've messed with the 'history  
of the universe'. I can't say what entirely, of course. =) That would spoil the suprise.   
However, I'm thinking of possibly re-writing it, switching some details around and working   
the other characters into this. It'll retain much of the unique-ness and storyline, but it'll  
open up some interesting posibilities. It all depends on how far I get...and how often I recieve   
motivation. No feedback = few updates.  
  
This chapter's a bit shorter than the first, but please bear with me. This is the smallest of   
the chapters, and (I think) is one of the more 'mundane' chapters. But hey! It can only get   
better from here. =)  
  
--- The Nightmare Bridge ---  
  
-- Chapter 2 --  
-- Through the Doors --  
  
An sudden jolt of pain shot up through Momoko's arm, pushing the inert girl back into   
the waking world. Her eyes blurred for an instant as she sat up slowly, looking around. As she   
did so, her right arm screamed from beneath her, and she narrowly missed collapsing. In suprise   
she lifted up her right arm gently.  
  
"It's been bandaged? From what?" Momoko blinked. "I don't remember cutting   
myself...WHAAA?!"  
  
Momoko gasped in suprise, looking around. Everywhere around her, she could see the tips   
of a thousand metallic spires, each one illuminated in red, violet, or orange. Even the strange   
platform she was on, a good thirty by thirty foot square, was lit up in orange light. "No way!   
I'm still...I'm still dreaming?!"   
  
Momoko lurched to her feet to get a better view. Seconds later, her stomach lurched with   
her, looking down to the ground that seemed a hundred feet below. It wasn't just a platform she   
was on. It was another spire! "How in the world did I get up here?!"  
  
"I brought you here for safety." Forte called, floating down from above and landing   
several feet away.   
  
"You...You..." Momoko mumbled, inching away from the desending Outcast. 'My cut! I   
remember now! It was him!'  
  
"Yeah, It's me again. Happy to see me?" Forte grumbled, sitting down on the other side   
of the pillar.  
  
"Happy? You cut my arm and trapped me on this stupid building. And now you're back   
again! Why can't you just leave me alone!?" Momoko yelled at the cloaked Forte, who merely   
rolled his eyes.   
  
"Typicaly short-sighted."  
  
"Short-sighted?!"  
  
"There's no safer place on this server than atop a spire. Few rivals can find you, no   
viruses can reach you, and the only way you'd fall is if you were too stupid to watch your   
step."  
  
"While convieniently keeping me from running off."  
  
"Something like that."  
  
Forte frowned in frustration. 'So much for her being cooperative. What had the old man   
said about dealing with others he needed information from? The term...what was it...  
interrogation? Yes, that was it! Hold on. Interrogation?! What am I thinking?!'  
  
He winced for a second, before returning to his customary scowl. 'I should have   
remembered not to think back to him for help.' He turned away, trying to hide the annoyance   
from his voice. 'I guess a simple question will have to do...'  
  
"You're a human, aren't you?" The Outcast spoke quietly.  
  
"Of course I am! Aren't...aren't you?" Momoko frowned.   
  
The Outcast was silent.   
  
"I mean, you look strange, but I've seen wierder at the dances at school...haha...ha..."   
Momoko laughed for a second, but it was hollow and soon collapsed in on itself.   
  
"I'm sorry...I should have listened to you." Forte stood up, and turned his head so that   
he was staring into Momoko's eyes. "No...I am not a human. I'm a Navi. A computer program."  
  
Those red eyes...no one could fake eyes like that..."You're a program?! And this   
place...this is a computer?!" Momoko shrieked. "Then those things that were chasing me were more  
programs, not monsters..."  
  
"In a sense, they were both. They were viruses, unthinking programs designed to cause   
damage and chaos over the net."  
  
"Wouldn't that make you a virus?" Momoko said, sticking out her tongue.   
  
"Why, you little...I'm nothing like those useless, thrown together pieces of junk! Virii  
attack because they have no choice. They don't think anything beyond the borders of thier   
programing. I do things because I choose to." Forte spoke with obvious pride.  
  
"So the viruses attacked me because they were too dumb to know anything else...and you   
attacked me because you're too dumb to care?"  
  
"Yes! Er...No! Aargh!" Forte's eye twitched in frustration.  
  
"Bastard."   
  
"I didn't bring you up here to be lectured!" Forte spoke, now feeling quite exasperated.   
"Could we please move on to more important topics?"  
  
"Like?"   
  
Forte swallowed. "Look. You're stuck, injured, and completely unable to protect   
yourself." He began to stutter. "Y-you bleed....and who knows what else being here on the   
internet could do to your health. If your body reacts the same here as it does in your world,   
your very existence might be sign your death warrant."   
  
"Just by being here I'm killing myself, huh? What do you mean by that?" Momoko asked,   
a sick feeling beginning to well up in her gut. She glanced at her injured arm.  
  
"Are you hungry?" asked Forte.  
  
"Well, yeah! I haven't had food since this nightmare started. But what does that have   
to do with killing myself?" Sudden comprehension crossed Momoko's eyes.   
  
Forte nodded. "Navis don't eat. We rely on electricity to keep us running. But humans   
eat food, and if you don't react to weapons like Users or Navis do, what do you think that   
electricity will do to someone like you?"  
  
Momoko couldn't respond. Her stomach growled as she broke eye contact with Forte.  
  
"That's why we should try to find some way of sending you back home. I don't know how   
you got here, but together, I'm sure we can find some way to send you back."  
  
Anger and confusion lanced through Momoko's violet eyes. "Work together?!" Momoko   
gasped. "I hate you!"  
  
Forte slowly sank to the ground, looking miserable. "I can't undo what I did, and you   
know it."  
  
"Would you, If you could?"  
  
"Yes! That's what I'm trying to get through to you! I was a fool to lose control like   
that. Perhaps I have been a fool ever since I left my sopping excuse for a master. But I never   
would have realized it, if I hadn't've hurt you!"  
  
"You think that makes it right?!"  
  
"Gah, no! Stop twisting my words! I never thought I COULD hurt a human. Spent hours...  
long, focused hours... hiding, watching Users and Navis walk around, trying to find a way to   
strike out them, at people in the real world. I wanted to take what my master gave me, turn   
around, and shove it right back in the face of his whole, stinking race!"  
  
Forte faltered. "I don't understand. You took that hope, that vision...and...somehow,   
you...you made it fade away." He stared blankly outward, as if in awe. "It was the blood.   
Navi's don't have blood, no mess when they get deleted. It's almost so inconsequential now   
that a Navi could get deleted daily and not feel adverse effects, save for losing the data it   
had been working on. But blood...it's permanent. It's still here, on my hands...tainted   
red with your blood. I finally achieved the impossible... and I hate it!" Forte spat the   
last sentence, looking disgusted.   
  
"Please!" Forte pleaded. "I want no more scars to my name. Hate me, despise me, but   
please let me help you, for both your sake and mine!"  
  
Silence shrouded the air around the tower.   
  
"You're a nut. But somehow..." Momoko said. "...I believe you."  
  
"Hmm?" Forte blinked, suprise clearly evident in his face.  
  
"Let's work together."  
  
Forte's face lit up. "You'll let me help you?!"  
  
"Yes," she said, getting to her feet. "My name is Momoko."  
  
Forte was up in a flash, his confidence restored along with his height. "My name is   
Forte. Otherwise known as the Outcast."  
  
"Outcast, huh? I suppose I shouldn't be suprised..."  
  
'Oh, shut up.' Forte grumbled to himself. "I guess I have some explaining to do..."  
  
"Boy, do you ever."  
  
"Put a lid on the attitude, would ya?" Forte growled. Momoko stuck out her tongue, but   
kept silent.   
  
"Alright. Before we start, you've got a lot to learn about the internet and how it   
works. Pay attention now, because your very life hinges on you knowing this information..."  
  
* * *  
  
Far above Forte and Momoko, one Navi and User team floated in the air, watching the pair  
in curiosity and confusion.   
  
"So that's the legendary Forte. It looks like he has another person with him, too,   
though..." Fenrir said in a calm voice. Fenrir was the taller of the two, looking for all the   
world like a unpolished crystal sculpture. Even hunched back, his long limbs, huge hands and   
oblong head combined to make all that saw him shudder, unnerved by the harsh figure.  
  
"Are you sure? Forte is supposed to be an Outcast." Trevor gave his partner a perplexed   
glance. Black haired, with simple black-and-blue clothes, the boy could have blended in   
anywhere. He seemed, in fact, totally normal, save for his companion.   
  
"There is definitely another person there. She look like a User, not a Navi." Fenrir   
replied, his voice insistent.  
  
"A User? Forte doesn't have a user..." Trevor looked down, straining his eyes to see   
for himself. "Forte is infamous for hating humans."  
  
"I could be wrong. But what else could she be?"  
  
"I'm not sure. Considering Forte's background, I'd that he's either found another rogue   
Navi, a virus designed to look like a Navi, or he's somehow separated a user from her Navi and   
is trapping her here somehow."  
  
"Can Forte do such a thing?"  
  
"Heaven help us if he can," Trevor muttered. "Come on."  
  
"We're just going to leave? After all the time we spent hunting him down?" Fenrir asked   
in suprise. "It may be extremely dificult to find him again."  
  
"As much as I hate that fiend, we aren't ready to topple him yet. Navi or User, it   
doesn't matter, we can't afford being deleted quite yet. It'd be too much of a setback at this   
point. Let's leave the lesser hunters to run into him and slow him down. They won't matter in   
the end. We're not going to underestimate him, and we're the ones that are going to take him   
down. Come, we have research to do."  
  
The statuesque navi nodded, and prepared for a new server jump. Trevor stared back down   
at Forte and his strange new companion. He frowned. For a second, it looked like the girl   
had...an bandage on her arm?   
  
'Yeah, right.' "I must've had one too many drinks," Trevor sighed. "Just as I thought   
my job couldn't get any more complicated..."  
  
The two glowed for an instant, before vanishing into the air, leaving no sign that they   
had ever been there at all.  
  
--- End Chapter 2 --- 


	3. Truths within Deception

Author's Notes: As promised, here is Chapter 3. You all can expect Chapter 4 to be released May 23.  
  
I currently have no plans to add Lan and co. to the fic, because I've messed with the 'history of the universe'. I can't say what entirely, of course. =) That would spoil the suprise.   
  
However, I'm thinking of possibly re-writing it, switching some details around and working the other characters into this. It'll retain much of the unique-ness and storyline, but it'llopen up some interesting posibilities. It all depends on how far I get...and how often I recieve motivation. No feedback = few updates.  
  
This chapter is the longest to date!   
  
--- The Nightmare Bridge ---  
  
-- Chapter 3 --  
  
-- Truths within Deception --  
  
"No freakin' way!" Forte growled to his companion as the two of them walked towards the Server's primary entrance. "The whole idea is stupid."  
  
"It is not." Momoko shook her head. "Look, big guy. You said we needed to get some information, and we need to get it without anybody chasing after you. This is the best way to deter people away."  
  
"It's still stupid. I am NOT going to act as anybody's Navi! Besides, we're still going to attract attention because of that arm of yours."  
  
"That's exactly why you should try to act like a normal Navi. If you act like you normally do, what will people do if they were to see my arm bandaged like this, with a known troublemaker following me around?"  
  
Forte groaned. "They'd freak and figure I could 'injure' other people, too. We'd be up to our knees in Hunters."  
  
Momoko nodded. "Yep."  
  
"Listen, girl, I was a normal Navi for only one year. Just one. Moreover, that one year was even more of a hell than this situation is. I'm not going back to that."  
  
"Forte, this is totally different!" Momoko insisted.  
  
Forte scoffed. "Like you know anything about that. You're acting more like my creator every time you open your fat mouth. Always forcing me to see his way, making me do his dirty work day after day...never treated me like the masterpiece I am..."  
  
"Egotist." Momoko grumbled.  
  
"Say that again?" Forte said, glaring.  
  
"I am treating you like the masterpiece you claim to be, Forte! I'm not ordering you to do anything. I'm asking if you'll act like a Navi. Being a Navi and acting like a Navi are two very different things, right? Think about it. When did your creator...whoever he was...ask you to do something, instead of order you to? I'm betting never, and that's why you don't want to be someone's Navi."  
  
"Bingo. I'm not going back to that."  
  
"You're not going back! Why don't you get it?"  
  
Forte harumphed. "I get it, I get it! I just don't like it. How would YOU react if someone asked you to act like a slave?"  
  
"Is being a Navi really comparable to slavery?"  
  
"Hard work, no control over what you do, no respect from your creators, etcetera, etcetera. Most Navis aren't even given the capability for free will!" Forte scoffed. "I got lucky. Everyone else is created, and from day one ordered around endlessly, doing whatever their owners tell them to do. Most are too stupid to realize or care!" Forte groaned in frustration. "Can you see now why I don't like your idea?"  
  
"Yes..." Momoko nodded slowly. Could computer programs really be considered slaves?  
  
"I'll act like your Navi. But don't you DARE think I'm lowering myself to actually being one, got it?" Forte's voice was edged with steel.  
  
"I understand." Momoko said, nodding.   
  
Momoko sighed as they walked out of the forest-like maze of black pillars into a somewhat open clearing. In the center, a circular blue ring signified the server entrance. "So that's the way out of here?"  
  
"Yep." Forte took a quick look around. "Ordinarily I wouldn't have to use this, but with you around I can't just jump around wherever like I'm used to."  
  
"So, where are we going?" Momoko asked quizzically.  
  
"Your home country's primary server, obviously. We need to look up information on your family."  
  
"My family..."  
  
"What IS your family name, by the way? You sound Japanese, so..."  
  
"M-my family name? Well, um..."  
  
"Don't tell me you don't remember!"  
  
"Umm...okay...I won't..."  
  
Forte stared at Momoko in disbelief. "You mean we're not only searching for your family, but we're doing it BLIND?!"   
  
"I'm sorry! I-I don't even remember where I was when this stupid dream started! All I remember is some rythmic clattering and a lot of people talking nearby!"  
  
Forte groaned. "Fine, fine. Whatever. It'll just make things take a little longer. I just hope your stomach helps your remember what we need before things get out of hand." He whirled around, lifting one clenched hand high.  
  
"Server jump, Execute!"  
  
Momoko's stomach leapt to her throat as the world around her vanished. Suddenly, everything was wavy and insubstantial, as if Momoko had been thrust into one a giant oil painting, blurry and unfinished. The air itself tore Momoko off her feet, hurtling her headfirst through the shadowy existence, Forte following closely behind.   
  
The headlong journey didn't last long, however. A few seconds later, Momoko, and everything around her, lurched to a dead stop. Before she could even comprehend what happened, Forte was on one knee, shaking her. "Hey, you. Are you all right? Momoko!"   
  
Momoko shook her head. Her body ached, shivering in pain and heat. "My eyes...won't focus... What's going on?" Her voice came out as a croak.   
  
'Oh, this can't be good.' Forte swore inwardly as he peeked around him. A few confused bystander were watching nearby, whispering amongst themselves. 'Oh, man! I should have realized that a Server jump would affect Momoko somehow! I've got to get us out of here!'  
  
"The jump's over, Momoko, but we're drawing a crowd." Forte whispered to Momoko. Quietly enough, he hoped, for those nearby to not hear.  
  
"Right." Momoko swallowed and staggered to her feet. She wobbled a few times, before finally finding a solid foothold. "It's so hard to see...C'mon, Forte. Let's go find my family."  
  
'Not so loud!' Forte groaned inwardly. "Okay. To a library." He cringed at the confused bystanders.   
  
Slowly, the two made their way through the server. Unlike the harsh black edges and right angles of Forte's secluded hideaway, this server was a replica of a enormous garden and park. Colors abounded everywhere, and Forte found himself sifting through small crowds of Users and Navis, out and about on their daily business. Slowly, he lead Momoko through the crowd, who felt remarkably light-headed.  
  
Momoko sneezed. "So many flowers...so many people...the smells..."  
  
"Excuse me? Smells?" Forte asked.   
  
"The scent of flowers...it's all over this place..."  
  
Forte gave the flowers a cursory glance then tried sniffing the air himself. Nothing. "Are you telling me that you can smell the things here?"  
  
"Yeah...though usually I'm not allergic to them..."  
  
'Unbelievable. Momoko has a sense of smell, here? I...I wonder what it'd be like, to smell things...'  
  
'Come to think of it, I wonder just how many experiences humans have that I am unable to grasp...'  
  
'Taste? Pain? Love? Hah! Love, that's a good one.'  
  
Forte resisted laughing at the impossibility of it all. Momoko noticed his suppressed chuckle as the two kept walking along.  
  
'But...wasn't love supposed to be impossible to describe? How then could I know I'm feeling it...or not feeling it already?'  
  
Forte shook those thoughts aside. Philosophy was useless to him, right? No need to go in depth on something as pointless as 'what ifs'.  
  
"I think I'm getting some of my sight back..." Momoko commented. "Thing's are a little less blurry now!"   
  
Forte grinned. "Good. We're almost to the central library. We're going to need your eyes to help find your family."  
  
Momoko nodded. "Okay."  
  
"Marduk-spawn! It's him!" Forte's eyes bulged as he heard an astonished voice cry to his left. He snapped his head in the direction of the speaker, letting his eyes scan the crowd before finding the source of the disturbance. His eyes locked with those of the offender, freezing them both in place. 'Oh, come on, it's that idiot Yuzori again! Why'd I have to run into this loser?'  
  
Yuzori was the quickest to react. "Double! Battle Mode, Set, Execute! Delete the Outcast, quick!" Yuzori screamed to his Navi.   
  
It took Forte a few seconds to realize just WHO Yuzori was talking to. Mule was nowhere in sight, so exactly who was this 'Double'?  
  
Forte's search ended as the ground beneath him erupted into a geyser of stone and rock. Showers of tiny stones flew everywhere, striking Momoko and several nearby travelers, who started yelling in protest. Forte himself rode the explosion's shockwave into the air, where he activated his hover program, and turned to face the now-revealed assailant.  
  
"That could have damaged someone, you know." Forte remarked, pointing at the bystanders.  
  
"Like you care!" Double said with a sneer. Double appeared like a golden-armored human, but his chest and limbs had been replaced with a strange violet gel. A golden hand lanced out, the goo stretching out like a string to grapple the floating Outcast. The blows never hit, their striking force deflected a few feet away from Forte by a sheen of crackling black energy.  
  
Both Yuzori and Momoko blinked. Double's attack just bounced off of him?  
  
Forte winced. 'This 'Double' is more advanced than he looks. The Void Aura is only becomes visible when I wish it or when it's deflecting a exceptionally intense force...and it sure wasn't the former. Interesting form of attack, however...'  
  
"Momoko! Battle commands!" He stared at Double, holding out his hands wide. 'If I'm gonna act like a Navi, I can't take initiative here. I must wait for Momoko's order.'  
  
"Ahem! Battle commands, please!" Forte emphasized again.  
  
"Um...uh...right..." Momoko stuttered. "Battle Mode, Set!"   
  
"What?! I thought The Outcast didn't have a User!" Yuzori complained. "This ain't right. Double! Don't let her finish the command!" Double crouched down, and hurled himself towards Momoko.  
  
Momoko screamed and jumped back. Double smashed into the ground headfirst, golden armor and violet goo flying everywhere from the impulsive attack. "Execute! Execute already! Forte, now!"  
  
Forte's steel blade was out in an instant, charging in towards Double, whose body was already re-forming. Forte saw the smug grin on Double's face as he charged in, prepared to strike.  
  
"Forte!" Momoko screamed in horror at seeing the mad look of each combatant's face. She watched as Double pulled back his hand, preparing to splatter Forte with a single overwhelming strike. Forte's sword-arm likewise was cocked and ready. His arm thrust forward, the deadly blade aimed for Double's head. Double's expression turned to that of disbelief when the incoming sword simply vanished, leaving a single bloodied hand behind.   
  
"Wh-what?" Yuzori protested. In the course of a second, Forte grasped Double's forehead firmly and froze the doppelganger Navi in place.  
  
"Goodbye, Double. You were better than most." Forte begrudgingly commented. Black motes of force streamed from Forte's palm into Double's entrapped head. Double screamed as his form began to flicker.   
  
"Forte! What are you doing?!" Momoko yelled.   
  
"Evolution," Forte curtly replied, before Double's body shattered into light, leaving behind a black mist that floated around for a second or two before Forte's hand absorbed it.  
  
Yuzori stood blankly. "That...wasn't fair..." He frowned and turned to Forte. "I'll get you back for this!"  
  
"Oh, whatever." Forte grabbed Momoko under his arm and, cloak swirling about him, took to the air. "Just shut up."   
  
A thin ray of white light lanced out from Forte's palm as they flew away, skewering Yuzori in the neck. He choked for a second, his eyes huge, before his body shattered into light and vanished.  
  
Forte gave a small sigh of relief. He hovered down to the library entrance, setting Momoko down, who took a few seconds to calm down and catch her breath.  
  
"N-next time warn me before picking me up like that, alright? That hurt..."  
  
"What? Oh...right." Forte looked thoughtful "Well, it bought us some time, anyway. Without Double, Yuzori can't communicate via the Internet. It won't be long before he repairs the damage and we have more company, though."  
  
"What did you do to them?" Momoko intoned. "Both Yuzori and the Navi looked like there were in an awful lot of pain..."  
  
"Nonsense. Navis don't feel pain. We have a sense of touch, but it's too dull to actually be considered pain. isn't one of them. I should know, remember?"  
  
"I don't know..."  
  
"Whatever! We don't have time to argue about that."   
  
The two of them walked into the large, cathedral-like building. People walked up and down the halls, talk of school reports and fiction tales wafting through the air. Hurriedly, Forte walked Momoko past the public terminals and down a side corridor. They walked a short ways into the maze of corridors and passed several door before finally arriving at a door that Forte deemed safe. It was one of the library's secure rooms, normally reserved for official records and government use. He tried opening the door. No luck.  
  
"Go figure." Forte said. "I'm going to have to hack our way in." Looking around for any potential witnesses, he ducked into the doorway, held out his hand, and placed it on the door.   
  
"Don't talk to anyone." He said, before his eyes went blank and lifeless. Forte's body slumped over, his outstretched hand still firmly in place.  
  
* * *  
  
Back in the real world, infinitely far away from the chaos of the Internet, Trevor stared across the table to his employer. Dressed in a dark shirt and pants, with an overly large lab coat, Mr. Bates looked like the spitting image of a mad scientist. Well, not really. The clothing fit the stereotype, but Mr. Bates himself didn't look all that crazy. Trevor resisted the urge to laugh, anyway. This WAS his employer, after all, and a surprisingly rich one.  
  
"You've found the Outcast? Are you certain of this, Trevor?" Mr. Bates asked, picking up a burger and taking a bite.  
  
"Not entirely. Both Fenrir and I saw him, and the appearance matched Forte's description, but the Navi we found had no I.D. signature and couldn't be picked up by a Server Scan. Really, there was no whay for us to learn more, aside from asking him."  
  
"That sounds about right. Forte is like a shadow - you know he's there but aside from intuition and visual contact, it's impossible to track him down. I take it you didn't have any sort of interaction with him?"   
  
"No. The circumstances were...unusual. Besides, I know full well Forte's opinion about us humans and his defensive capabilities. Unless Forte's Void Aura is weaker than I suspected, any attack we could make would be pointless against him."  
  
"Well...the Void Aura certainly isn't invincible, you know. It can be overpowered, or shut off, or negated if you know how to."  
  
"Really? How do you know this?"  
  
"I've done a lot of research into the Void Aura. It's an amazing piece of programming, the was it always changes and adapts. But anyway, I'm sure you're not here to discuss something as complicated as how a Aura-class shield program 'really' works."  
  
Mr. Bates reached into his pocket and handed Trevor a small disk.  
  
"What's this?" Trevor asked, taking a bite into a piece of chicken.  
  
"I've done some research on the Outcast, to go along with his Aura." Mr Bates spoke seriously. "THAT, Trevor, is the counter-program for Forte's specific Void Aura."  
  
Trevor jumped. It was a tiny jump, for one cannot jump very well while sitting, but a jump nonetheless.  
  
"You seriously found a way to counter it? Th-that's amazing! How long did it take you to find this?!"  
  
"Never mind that. I trust you will put that program to good use?" Mr Bates eyed Trevor seriously.  
  
"Of course. I'll need some time to make sure it works, though."  
  
"Take as much time as you need." Mr. Bates spoke. "Just don't delay too long. Forte's different from other Navis. He gets smarter everyday. I've even heard rumors that he's smart enough to program things himself."  
  
"Do you know how he does it?"  
  
"Of course not! It is only a rumor. Who knows if it's actually real?"  
  
"Marduk would know." Trevor said with a frown.  
  
"True enough." Mr. Bates nodded.  
  
"For not wholly believing them, you seem to like keeping track of these rumors."  
  
"Forte is my obsession, Trevor Keese. Surely some speculation can be allowed."  
  
Trevor chuckled. "Yes, I suppose so. Oh, yeah! When we found Forte, it looked like he was with someone else. Navi, User, Program, we couldn't tell what, exactly."  
  
Mr. Bates frowned. "What? That's...unusual, to say the least. What did the I.D. code say?"  
  
"There was none, Mr. Bates. She didn't show up when I ran a scan of the area, either."  
  
Mr. Bates stiffened. "Now we may really have a problem. Did it look like a girl?"  
  
"Yes, actually." 'Hmm? What's with Mr. Bates? It looks like he's seen a ghost or something...'  
  
"East Indian robes? Long hair?"  
  
"What? No, no. It looked like she was wearing a uniform, actually. I'm not sure, but it looked like it came from some sort of private school." Trevor fought down the urge to ask exactly what he meant. 'The plot thickens...I wonder who's this mystery girl he seems so worried about...'  
  
Mr. Bates sighed, though it seemed forced. "Wonderful. More trouble." He stood up, his meal finished. "Trevor, I'm going to up the pay for Forte's deletion to $4,500 if you can get some more information on that mystery girl from him. I think we may have another Rogue on our hands."  
  
"I see..."  
  
"And if it is a rogue Navi, I'll throw in another $1500 for her deletion. If you can prove she is a Rogue, of course. If she's a normal Navi, then there's no point in it."  
  
Trevor whistled. 'An extra thousand just for asking some questions and deleting her? Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me. Where does he get all of this cash to throw around?'  
  
"That, I can do. It didn't seem like the girl was very powerful anyway. Heck, she even looked injured..." Trevor remarked off-handedly. "As odd as that is..."  
  
"Yes." Mr. Bates said. "Very odd indeed..." The two shook hands. "I'll continue my research and contact you if I find anything of importance."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Good-bye, Trevor." Mr. Bates walked out of the restaurant, leaving Trevor to think in solitude.  
  
-- End Chapter 3 -- 


	4. Identity Crisis

Author's Notes: Ack! I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter out! I know it's been writen, but it takes some time to re-format it for Fanfiction.net. I ended up having to re-work the ending because of corrupted file data, also, which I have been too busy with schoolwork to actually sit down and do. So, with no further ado, here is Chapter 3.  
  
I currently have no plans to add Lan and co. to the fic, because I've messed with the 'history of the universe'. I can't say what entirely, of course. =) That would spoil the suprise.   
  
However, I'm thinking of possibly re-writing it, switching some details around and working the other characters into this. It'll retain much of the unique-ness and storyline, but it'llopen up some interesting posibilities. It all depends on how far I get...and how often I recieve motivation. No feedback = few updates.  
  
--- The Nightmare Bridge ---  
  
-- Chapter 4 --  
  
-- Identity Crisis --  
  
  
  
"I don't think this was such a good idea anymore." Momoko muttered to herself as she crouched down next to the security door that Forte was silently hacking away. "Why can't we just use the public server? Is security that important here?" She griped. "I'm really getting hungry, and this arm is getting heavy!"  
  
'Yeah, it probably is important, I guess.' Momoko grumbled. 'Though I still wish he'd hurry!'  
  
She looked over at the unmoving Forte. 'He seems so calm now. Focused.'  
  
Yet, not even a half hour ago, his eyes had practically lit up with excitement when he had deleted Yuzori and Double. Forte had said he had wanted no part in the crimson road he had previously followed, yet his eyes still held the kind of manical excitement she thought only could exist in fanatics and the obsessed.   
  
Unless, of course, Forte was somehow faking his mania...  
  
"Great. He's either insane or the best actor the world has ever seen. What a choice." Momoko stood up. "I need some time to think." Quietly, as if to not wake up the psuedo-sleeping Forte, Momoko walked away. 'I'll be back before he wakes up, anyway.'  
  
'I just hope he doesn't get caught...'  
  
It took Momoko several minutes to find her way out of the quiet maze of hallways Forte had secluded them in. She stood in the doorway for a few moments, stunned by what she saw. Before, her vision had been somewhat blurred from the Server jump, but now, she could see as good as ever. Everywhere, she could see Navis and users walk around, reading books, writing reports, or telling an old tale amung friends. It was just like a normal library...except for the Navis that walked around.   
  
One black and yellow Navi marched along the book shelves, four enourmous electrical transformers strapped to it's back almost like a backpack. A few feet away, a smaller, insect-like Navi flitted amung the books, it's goggled eyes taking in every detail. At a nearby table, a not yet teenage boy with bleached hair sat reading a book, a tall red Navi with flowing silver hair and a raven's eye stood guard nearby, looking bored yet silently serious.   
  
  
  
Quietly, Momoko slipped into the room, easily blending into the rest of the library's diverse population. 'So much is happening so fast...' Momoko thought with a sigh, 'I can't help but have new questions almost every time something happens. What did Forte do to Double to cause him to shatter like that? Why does his personality seem to keep switching? What did he mean by evolution? Where am I? Heck, WHO am I? I can barely remember a thing!'  
  
  
  
A sudden tremor brought Momoko's contemplation came to a sudden screeching halt. "What in the world?!" She exclaimed as the building began to shake. The other library patrons looked around in confusion, no less confused.   
  
"Blues! With me!" The bleach haired boy took off running towards the enterance. "Battle Mode, Set!"  
  
"As ordered, Lord Enzan!" The navi said, it's own arm-blade already extended for combat. Several other Navis followed suit, searching for the source of the attack.   
  
"Hey, wait!" Momoko cried. "What the heck is going on?"  
  
"I believe somebody's released a virus nearby." The insect-like Navi commented. His buzzing wings had let him hover up to the windows, where the shaking ground couldn't touch him. "I think it may be a new model. I can't see it from here..."  
  
"I can't scan it, either! What the heck is going on out there?" A User complained.  
  
The sounds of cracking earth outside filled the air as...something...gave an earth-shattering roar.  
  
Momoko didn't stick around to see what it was. Down the corridor she ran, desperate to find Forte. Air burned her lungs like fire as she rushed down the corridor. Yuzori must have sent word of Forte's appearance to someone else! If Forte hadn't unlocked the door yet...  
  
"Wha?!" Momoko cried as she turned the last corner. Forte wasn't there! Where is he? Why did he leave?  
  
The thoughts were stopped short when she saw the sign on the door. A public search room. Forte had been in front of a private room. Which meant...  
  
"This...this is the wrong area!" Momoko groaned. "Why can't anything go my way!"  
  
In her despair, she couldn't see the cracks begin to form on the ground around her. A new series of tremors rocked the building.   
  
"Miss, please, stay back!" A woman's voice called over the din. "Now!"  
  
Too late to turn and run, the ground in front of Momoko exploded into a gout of rocky shrapnel. Amidst the flying rocks, an enourmous purple worm burst out of the ground, leveling it's four-pronged mouth at Momoko and letting loose a ear-shattering screech. The slippery smell of chlorine filled the corridor, causing Momomo to swoon, her thoughts fuzzy and indistinct. She toppled to the ground, and stared blankly up at the great purple beast for a second before the sounds, smells, and pain from her newly-reaggravated arm overwhelmed her and she fell into blackness.  
  
* * *  
  
It took Forte roughly 0.73 seconds to notice the anomaly in the Library server as soon as it appeared. He mentally frowned, for the bodyless limbo he floated in gave him no concievable form. All around him data flowed, the programmed data of the server, the Navis and Users that moved there, what they searched for, everything seemed an open book. Thus, it was when he momentarily took a break from hacking into the Server's security computer, it became easy to examine the two unexpected forces that now besieged it.  
  
'What are these?' He wondered. Viruses, obviously. That much was apparent. But thier design and function, they seemed unique. Forte shook his non-existant head. 'Just our luck', he thought, 'that this server comes under attack while I'm here.'   
  
The attack didn't worry Forte too much. So long as Momoko stayed near him, he knew, it would be simple to return to his body and defeat the beasts. That wasn't what worried him. Despite never seeing the violet ground-dwellers before, they seemed uncannily familiar to Forte, a fact he didn't like much at all.   
  
He looked over the two creatures, watched as one burst out of the ground in front of the library and the other burrowed underneath the Library to attack within. All of the combat worthy Navis were already in motion to destroy the one near the enterance. He took the opportunity to run a thorough scan of the second, and would have screamed if he had a body capable of doing so.  
  
"The mark of Marduk?!" He growled. A feeling of disgust welled up within him.   
  
Forte alone knew what that Marduk symbol really meant.  
  
The mark of Marduk meant Forte's creator was in the business of terror once again.  
  
How he wished he could spit in his creator's face right then, but he knew he had greater priorities. 'If Kerian chose to attack here, that means he might know that I'm here! If that's true, than these viruses are much more than they appear to be! I've got to get back to Momoko!'  
  
Through the formless world he rushed. In less than a second he was back at his body, and about ready to jump in, when he noticed the one thing that could possibly make the situation worse. Momoko wasn't there.   
  
"THAT IDIOT!" Forte panicked, rushing back out into the void. "Where? Where is she?!" He finally found her, quaking in fear as the second worm broke through the floor in front of her. "NO!" Forte screamed in denail, rushing back to his body. No even taking a second to stretch and regain his lost manuverability, he rushed headlong down the corridor, resisting. He ignored those in his way, simply whacking them aside as he rushed with all of the speed his body could give him. He had to get there in time. He HAD to!  
  
Finally, he rushed into the broken corridor where he had seen Momoko and the worm. Chunks of granite and smooth stone lay everywhere. But nothing else. No Momoko. No virus. The corridor was well and truly abandoned.  
  
* * *  
  
*ring ring ring*  
  
*ring ring ring*  
  
"Station for Osaka, Tokai district 1 approaching."  
  
*ring ring ring*  
  
"All passengers heading for Osaka, Tokai District 1 please prepare your luggage."  
  
*ring ring ring*  
  
Why...Why won't someone shut off that phone...  
  
*ring ring ring*  
  
Can't anyone else hear it?  
  
*ring ring ring*  
  
"Now arriving at Tokai District 1."  
  
*ring ring ri-*  
  
About time it finally - huh?  
  
"I see...the servers are active?"  
  
Wha...voices in my head...?  
  
"It's working? Wonderful!"  
  
Get out of my head...leave me alone...  
  
"Finally, I can be free..."  
  
Why am I hearing things? Go away! Goaway-goaway-goaway-goaway...  
  
*click*  
  
* * *  
  
For the second time in whay too short of a time, Momoko woke up with a startled gasp. 'What in the world was that dream?' She wondered. In bits and pieces, it seemed, her memories were finally returning to her. Despite the sudden upsurge of memory, Momoko frowned. "I wish I knew what it meant..."  
  
  
  
"Hey, she's waking up!" Momoko heard from behind her. She froze. It was a woman's voice, not Forte's. 'Could I be back home?'  
  
  
  
"Are you alright?" Another voice asked Momoko. A young indian woman in casual clothes sat down next to Momoko, concern on her face.  
  
"I don't know," Momoko replied. "Who're you?"  
  
"My name is Yssane." Yssane gave a kind smile. "Don't worry. My Navi and I deleted the Virus that attacked you and carried you here. Relax, you're in our home."  
  
"Thank you," Momoko replied weakly. "I guess I'm not home yet after all." She pushed herself off of the bed with both hands and stood up. "I'm sorry, I need to go find my friend. He was in the library when it was attacked."  
  
  
  
"I see..." Yssane replied, though she obviously didn't. "May I ask a question before you leave?"  
  
  
  
"Erm..." Momoko faltered. "Alright, but I can't make any promises that I will answer."  
  
"Fair enough. Did you know that your arm is healed now?"  
  
"Huh?" Momoko stared down at her arm. Her normal, totally healthy arm. Even the sleeve of her shirt was as good as new. "It's healed! How...Did you do this?"  
  
  
  
"I did." Another woman's voice called from behind Yssane. Momoko looked over at the new speaker.  
  
"What in the world?" The second woman looked almost like a clone of Yssane. Only thier clothing seemed to mark the two apart. Whereas Yssane's clothing was plain and simple, the second wore a set of beautiful east-indian robes. She bowed to Momoko.  
  
"Hello. I am Serenade, Yssane's Navi."  
  
"W-wow! You two look like twins!"  
  
Yssane smiled. "You could say that."  
  
"Thank you for healing me."  
  
"Of course! It was my pleasure," Serenade smiled. "I'd be honored if you could tell me who you are and how you got injured like that in the first place, though."  
  
Momoko froze. 'I should have known she'd ask that question.'  
  
"My name is Momoko. I-I don't know why I can get hurt here, though. I'm sorry, it's just so hard to explain...I don't even know how I ended up here on the Internet in the first place!"  
  
Yssane and Serenade exchanged a glance. "You don't know?"  
  
"No. I honestly have no idea."  
  
"How frustrating..." Serenade commented. "Are you sure you're not some sort of superNavi?"  
  
"Yes, I'm sure! W-why would I be?"  
  
"Momoko, you've been here with us for over a week! It took Serenade that long to decode you, and even then all we managed to do was somehow reset your appearance and health! A week! It normally takes her 5 minutes to do that to a standard User or Navi!"  
  
"Decode me!? B-but I'm a human! Not a program, not a Navi, not a User! A human!"  
  
"Human? Not likely! Serenade is a legend amung Navis. She's one of the most advanced Navis ever built. And here you are, with a level of programming so complex, it'd take weeks of research to change something as simple as your eye color! If I had any say in this, I'd say that you're the most complex computer program in mankind's history!"   
  
Momoko's world crashed.  
  
"No. You can't be right! You can't be! You can't be!" Momoko's breath became labored and panicked. Tears streamed down from her face as the world spun around her. "I can't be a computer! I CAN'T BE!"  
  
-- End Chapter 4 -- 


	5. Devil's Bargain

I'm sorry, everyone, for how long this chapter took! I had a major computer crash and have been too busy trying to set it up again to try and re-write the next chapters, but now that I'm in business again, the words shall fly!  
  
*********  
  
Forte's eye twitched in denial as he stared at the empty corridor that he had seen Momoko in just a minute prior. Gone, almost in the blink of an eye! Black motes of crackling void zipped around him, his aura sensing his frustration and seeking to strike something, anything. Forte, in his perfectly rotten mood, grapped up some of the power and prepared to chuck it against the simple patterned wall.  
  
#Forte, you jerk!#  
  
Forte nearly slipped onto the ground in surprise. Unmistakably, that was Momoko's voice...and not in a happy mood, either. He looked around, trying to figure out where it came from. The void power suddenly became weak and unstable, sputtering out forgotten.  
  
#Why'd you hurt her! She didn't do anything!#  
  
"Again!" Forte whirled around, searching for the voice. "Momoko! Are you there?!"  
  
#Can't...can't you tell it's me?#  
  
"What....what's going on? Momoko, come on out!"  
  
Only silence answered Forte, whose anger rapidly became laced with depression. "Dammit...Now I'm hearing voices in my head!"  
  
  
  
At the far end of the hall, a young User appeared, looking down the hall. "Hey there!" He called. "Are you alright?"  
  
"Buzz off!" Forte snapped out of habit, ignoring the odd feeling of Deja-Vu forming in the back of his mind. Forte spun around, and began stomping down the corridor.  
  
With that, Forte's body broke up, his own Exit program breaking a hold in the server's programming big enough for Forte alone to move through. This time, the trip through the shadowy space between servers took only a fraction of the time it had taken with Momoko, a few precious seconds which Forte used to decide on his plan.   
  
  
  
Marduk was alive. His viruses had caused Forte to lose Momoko, his actions had wrecked Forte's life, and his mere existence drove Forte mad.  
  
Somehow, Forte decided, he was going to make sure that Marduk never disturbed him again.  
  
Seconds later, the pastel world of Server travel vanished, replaced with a dark, harshly mettalic world of sharp edges and cruel thoughts. It was the Undernet, a special server created long ago for a now-forgotten purpose, now a safe haven for bank hackers, black market sellers, and illegal operators. Just the kind of scum, Forte knew, Marduk prefered working with.  
  
Because of his once-long standing relationship with Marduk, Forte knew a great deal about the Undernet. It was maintained by a group of Users called the Founders - five expert human programmers out to make a living by providing the uncontented with whatever rare good or service their customers could afford. The Undernet itself was extremely isolated, accessable from only a few places on the net and specially sealed off to prevent any government investigations. Even without the restrictions, most people considered even conversation about the Undernet taboo. Forte, of course, knew ways around the restrictions and couldn't care less about some stupid human fear, but to most of the world, the Undernet was an untouchable citadel.  
  
Dropping down to his feet, Forte looked around. Amid the neo-gothic gloom of the server, several Users and thier Guardian Navis walked around, generally minding thier own business as they travelled around. No one had noticed him yet.  
  
'Well, I'll just have to change that, won't I?' Forte grinned, easing control over some of his inate protections. The sheer number of programs Forte was built with had several interesting side effects, other than giving Forte an Net-sized ego. With so many programs working in close quarters, merely letting them run normally could damage the surrounding area and act like a sun-strong lighthouse to nearby Navis. Forte normally blanketed the effects from occuring to avoid being a utter beacon for trouble, but this time, attention was just what Forte wanted. In the undernet, intimidation was a stronger weapon than viruses, anyday.  
  
  
  
The initial shockwave sent the nearby Users tumbling to the ground, screaming curses and yelling in surprise. The Navis, much less succeptible to losing thier balance, dropped to thier knees out of reflex and turned to face Forte, thier weapons out and firing before they had conciously identified the target. Forte just stood there and crossed his arms, not appearing concerned in the least. Thier weapons did nothing to Forte except obscure his vision with the smoke from plasma igniting uselessly against his shield.   
  
Slowly, the wind around Forte died down, the initial pressure difference between Forte's energy and the surroundings level once again. This gave a chance for the remaining Users to stand up and nearly scream.  
  
"You idiots! Do you WANT to get deleted?! Hold your fire!" One of the Users yelled. "That's FORTE!"  
  
As if a switch connecting them all had been flipped, the stream of fire-power stopped, letting the smoke drift away from Forte, whom looked bored.  
  
"Are you all done yet?" Forte asked.  
  
The group nodded. Forte snickered at their suddenly well coordinated movements.  
  
  
  
"Where is Marduk?"  
  
Blank looks stared back at Forte, whom sighed. No one had any idea? Blast it all!  
  
  
  
"Where are the Founders, then...?"  
  
"In a meeting at the Square!" Several of the Navis spoke up,   
  
"I'm gone." Forte turned away from the group, in the air again and moving at top speed. After all, he wouldn't want to be late in crashing the party.  
  
"Crossphase! Warn the Founders!" One of the users demanded of his Navi, fire in his eyes. Several other of the net-traveling pairs nodded thier consent, as several high-priority messages streamed through the net, heading Forte off to his destination. The rest of the group simply ran, logging out of the Net to protect thier files. After all, with Forte on the loose, who could blame them?  
  
***  
  
Forte arrived at the UnderSquare only a few minutes later to find it nearly abandoned. Not a soul was in sight of Forte or the massive steel statue that towered over the square. Silently, he cursed himself for not deleting the Navi group when he had the chance. The Founders had probably already cleared out the place.   
  
"Jerks." Forte grumbled out loud.   
  
"I'd watch your mouth, Outcast." Forte turned to face one of the Founders, Aegis, warping in from the outside.  
  
Forte smiled. "I'm surprised. I didn't expect any of you to still be here."  
  
"Don't be cocky. The rest of Five and I would never abandon our operations here, even if a lunatic like your self marched in. I should have you deleted just for disturbing us here again."  
  
"Then why don't you?" Forte smirked. "Doesn't the entire undernet have enough power to take down one lowly Navi?"  
  
"The entire undernet might very well be able to." Aegis replied. "But you know as well as I that the Five does not have control over the cowards that deal here. We are informants and goods suppliers, not rulers of an country."  
  
"Well, then, this shouldn't be a problem for you. After all, I'm not here as an invader. I need information."  
  
"Really?" Aegis raised an eyebrow. "What kind of information?"  
  
"I want to know where Marduk is. I've seen his viruses at work once again, new ones."  
  
"Hunting down your old boss, eh?" Aegis laughed. "I've got some stuff on him. Of cource, you're going to pay for the information. Pretty handsomely, I might add. Us Five have already lost a lot of money because of you being here today."  
  
"I have no need for the money I've aquired in my travels." Forte replied. "And I hold the data for more Battle Chips than most libraries. Name your price."  
  
"I want the data on your Void Aura." Aegis replied. "All of it."  
  
Forte's eyes grew as big as saucerplates at the demand. "Not happening, Flounder. As if I'm stupid enough to release that kind of data to anyone. "  
  
"Heh heh...true enough...If I knew how your aura worked, you'd probably end up dead. But then again, I did say you'd have to pay handsomely for it, now didn't I? And what could be more handsome than the very program letting you live?" Aegis drew up a big grin. "Of course...there is one other option..."  
  
"And what would that one be?" Forte grumped. "Slavery for life?"  
  
"Hardly. It'll be a straight info-for-info deal." Aegis said. "You see, I'm kinda curious about this server we are using to run the Undernet. None of us actually know where the Server's real-world location is. In fact, you could say that not a single one of us Five even really control the Server."  
  
"What?!" Forte stared at the man. "Why are you telling me this?"  
  
"The Undernet goes on a long ways, Forte. I tried exploring the depths of it myself and nearly lost my computer to the viruses that inhabit the lower levels. Viruses I've never even hear of before, mysteriously appearing near the base of the Server my allies and I claim to control? Surely that strikes even you as being somewhat odd."  
  
"Hmmph."  
  
"I'll get you your information, Forte, if you agree to find out what's really down there. I don't care what you take along the way - I know about your Get Ability program, feel free to absorb whatever the hell you like. Delete whatever's spawning all of those viruses if you want - I don't really care. But when the time comes that our customers start getting curious about what's down there, I want to be able to give them answers....or at least a plausable lie. Got that?"  
  
"So you want me figure out the source or those viruses? I can do that. No mindless drone, regardless of how many or how strong, is going to ever beat me."  
  
"You had better not fail, Forte. My allies are expecting an explanation of our conversation here - and you can be sure that I am not the only one with suspisions of our home's purpose. I want the answers, and I want them alone. I'm putting a lot of my own money into proving a false deal I've made with you. Understand?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah. I'll do it. So, what do you know about Marduk?"  
  
"Marduk's after you. He wants you dead - badly."  
  
"Feh... Tell me something I don't know."  
  
"He's been hiring people to track you down - sometimes tricking officials into it with the excuse that you're a threat to the Net Society, other times hiring those whom you've crossed in the past. Why he's going through so much effort to hire people to hunt you despite their obvious inferiority, I don't know. He of all people should know what you're capable of."  
  
"I haven't seen too many idiots after me recently. There's the usual few, but not any more that usual. Are you sure he has people after me?"  
  
"Yes. Maybe they simply can't find you, can't keep up with you, I don't know. Heck, they might simply be watching you, waiting for some sort of weak spot to come up."  
  
Forte jerked like he had been hit by a bolt of lightning. Momoko. Marduk's spies had been watching him and Momoko. The virus attack hadn't been against the server and it's people...it had been against him. Against his new-found weak point.  
  
Momoko.   
  
"D-damn it...That's has to be it." Forte seethed. "They were looking for my weak spot."  
  
"Were looking?" Aegis asked. "You mean, they found it already? Good going, hot shot."  
  
"Shut up!" Forte barked. "I'm not sure yet. Where is Marduk now?"  
  
"You think I know that? Yeah right. The guy's been an paranoid freak ever sense he re-appeared. Nobody knows where he is except himself."  
  
"The deal was for his location!"  
  
"I don't have that information." Aegis replied. "If I had it, I'd give it to you."  
  
"Why you...."  
  
"A deal is still a deal. I will start searching for Marduk's actual location, and I will report that to you once I find it. Does that work for you?"  
  
"Fine." Forte glowered. "I also want you to look through recent hospital records of the country of Japan. I want information about a girl named Momoko. The more unusual the medical case, the more likely that it's the one."  
  
Aegis cocked an eyebrow. "Alright, I suppose I can do that. Free of charge, 'cause I couldn't hold up my end of the bargain right away. What do you want first...the girl or Marduk?"  
  
"The girl."  
  
"Gotcha. Well, it's been a pleasure dealing with you. When I find anything, I'll let you know. In the meantime, I suggest you start holding up your end of the bargain."  
  
"Fine. Just get me the info."  
  
Aegis smiled as he began walking away. "You're different. You're still the jerk I remember, but you've changed. For the better, I might add."  
  
"You're surprisingly generous for a human yourself." Forte remarked as the man walked away.  
  
"We're not all *completely* perverse." Aegis said, before vanishing.  
  
*** 


	6. Tragic Cycle

Head faint and body screaming, Momoko ran blindly into the night. Everywhere around her darkness pressed down, the only light being a faint series of dimmly glowing points outlining her pursuer. The darkness was too think for her to see it's full form, but she could feel it's presence. It were there, right behind her, not making a sound, but it was there. It always was.  
  
Suddenly pressed to a wall, Momoko leapt to the left, a harsh screech of tearing metal behind her as a mighty claw ripped it to shreds, narrowly missing Momoko herself. She backpedaled away as fast as her arms and legs would allow, scrambling back to her feet just in time to avoid another claw. She sprinted away, lungs screaming, when she felt something slam against her chest and knock her winded to the ground.  
  
"You can't run." Momoko looked up to find a distorted, glitching copy of her self smile. "I won't let you run."  
  
"Why...why..." Momoko's mind mumbled. "Why is it me?"  
  
The air surged with a sudden angry roar from behind Momoko. Twin glowing eyes peeked out of the darkness, before it was obscured by the growing light from a tooth filled-maw.   
  
"WHY?!" Momoko screamed.  
  
***  
  
"WHY?!" Momoko leapt up, throwing the covers off of her bed. She stared blankly around her for a few moments, suddenly aware of the change in her surroundings. She heaved a heavy sigh and fell back against the covers.   
  
  
  
"Did you have a dream?" Serenade asked Momoko, looking over from the nearby desk, puzzled.  
  
"Yeah." Momoko mumbled.   
  
"Was it because of what I told you?" Serenade looked down at the floor apologetically. "I'm sorry for stressing you."  
  
"Thanks, I guess." Momoko replied, looking over to meet Serenade's gaze. "Is Yssane around?"  
  
"No, she had to leave for work." Serenade replied, finally tearing her gaze away from the floor and back to her papers. "I'm helping her with some of her finances."  
  
"Why? I mean...why do Navis obey Users at all?"  
  
Serenade smiled. "Most have to. Self-control simply isn't written into thier programming. Those that have some form of self-governing are programmed with loyaly to thier owner anyway. It's really kind of sad, sometimes."  
  
"What about you? Are you programmed for loyalty?"  
  
"No...I'm one of the lucky few Navis that get to chose the User based on merit. I follow Yssane because I trust her and her purpose, she has always been fair to me, and because with her, I can do more good than I could elsewhere."  
  
  
  
"I see...Do you ever wish you were human?"  
  
"I am human to Yssane. As long as I have her, I don't mind my life here. There are times where I wonder what it would be like...when you woke up from the dream, for example. Navis do not sleep, nor do we dream...it's a great mystery to me."  
  
"Well, I can definitely tell you it's a mixed bag." Momoko said, a small smile on her lips. "Dreams, that is."  
  
"Mixed bag?"  
  
"Sometimes they're good and happy, sometimes they're scary...and sometimes, there seem more real than reality itself."  
  
"More real than reality..."  
  
"Yeah...." Momoko suddenly frowned, a far off look in her eyes. "More real than reality..." She repeated.  
  
"I think...I've had that dream before...." Momoko suddenly realized. "Not exactly, I mean. But something about it seems oddly familiar...I think I had those dreams back when I was home..."  
  
"Do you know why?" Serenade asked, pushing the pile of paper towards the wall, where it faded away.  
  
"No...but I bet it has something to do with how I got here." Momoko said, pushing herself off of the bed. "I've made up my mind. I'm not going to worry about whatever I *am* right now. I need to find my friend and find my way home. That's all that should matter, right?"  
  
  
  
"Yes...I promise I'll help you find your way home as much as I can." Serenade smiled. "For now, however, there isn't much I can do. I can't go anywhere for a while because I need to stay here and guard the Server. Yssane was most insistent about it."  
  
  
  
"Why do you need to guard the server?" Momoko stretched, yawning. "Is this some sort of lighthouse for danger or something?"  
  
"Close."  
  
"Eh??" Momoko gasped as Serenade walked up to her and placed a hand on her head. In a flash, the two of them, had vanished, and re-appeared atop of an enormous pyramidal building.  
  
"WOW!" Momoko couldn't hold back her surprise. They were at the center of an single enourmous maze of enchanting platforms, floating on the clearest blue water Momoko had ever seen. Pillars of crystal shot out of the ground at indeterminate points, breaking up the soft light of the world into a spectrum of colors at every gleaming facet. Even farther away, the platforms and water seemed to bend almost perfectly upward, changing from a flat panel to a round, vertical wall of flowing water and land. Momoko craned her head up - far up - and saw the ceiling was a near-mirror image of the floor she and Serenade stood on.  
  
"This is the most secure and dangerous location ever to be connected to the net. Yssane's family created it to isolate and guard programs and viruses simply too powerful for the overworld to control. Few people ever hear of this place, and only a few suspect. This is the heart of the undernet itself... Arucard, the Quarantined World." Serenade began explaining.   
  
"The entire place is designed to keep intruders out. To reach this place, invaders would have to travel through the entire internet underworld, break the security locks, fight past the most powerful viruses ever designed, find thier way through all three sections of the maze, defeat both of the other guardians that guard the walls and cieling above us, and lastly, defeat me. No where else will you find so much security."  
  
Momoko nodded, not entire sure of how serious Serenade was. "You mean that the purpose that you were talking about...is to guard this place?"  
  
"Yes." Serenade said, a far-off look in her eyes and a bittersweet smile on her lips. "Thanks to Yssane, I have found my purpose here. I wouldn't have it any other way."   
  
"How many times have...have you needed to fight?"  
  
"Once." Serenade said, suddenly frowning. "That was long in the past, against a foe so unlike most Navis. The world that you see now around us - this pristine world - is actually the second version. We had to reform it...because the first model had been so thoroughly damaged in the final fight that the server in the real-world nearly had been ruined due to overheating. The more powerful the Navi, you see, the greater the strain it puts on the server that it currently inhabits...and with both the demon and I locked in battle for days...the server began to overheat from the stress.   
  
By the end, there was nothing left of the original programming to protect us. After a battle lasting ten days, and all of my efforts, I finally forced the Demon Navi to leave, but not before the demon managed to find one of the Forbidden programs and install it into himself. I managed to damage his memory enough that he no longer knows about this place...but if the day were ever to come that the demon Navi would return, I have little hope for our survival." Serenade frowned. "I pray that the day never comes."  
  
  
  
"Who is the Demon Navi?"  
  
"I do not remember his name. He simply appeared one day, like a cloaked hurricane, at the security door. When we battled, he said nothing...only near the end, when he finally found the forbidden program, a powerful creation called the 'Void Aura', did he speak. "This should sate the human," The Navi said, just before I attacked once more and banished him from here."  
  
  
  
"Cloaked..." Momoko supressed a shudder, suddenly very scared.  
  
Sate the human?   
  
Sounds just like it.  
  
Cloaked?  
  
Yep.  
  
Something called a 'Void Aura'?  
  
Well, he DID have that weird black field around him sometimes...  
  
The more Momoko thought about it, the more the answer seemed obvious. The image of Forte, under orders from his User, locked in battle against Serenade and of the destruction that followed flashed through Momoko's mind. Yes, that sounded just like him...  
  
"I REALLY hope that Demon Navi doesn't decide to drop in on us." Momoko agreed, nervously glancing at Serenade, whom nodded. 'Otherwise, the resulting clash may well kill them both...'  
  
"Yeah...well, enough of that. I think we've both had enough trouble for now." Serenade grinned. "Say, would you like to check out the Breeder?"  
  
***  
  
Cloak whirling about him as he traveled, Forte frowned as yet another virus erupted into bit data in front of him, uselessly destroyed. The Aegis Founder had been right...these viruses did seem more powerful than usual. They were harder to kill, at least, with most of the Viruses actually surviving the shock of sudden contact with Forte's void aura. This pleased Forte greatly, because now travel wouldn't be so boring, at least not down here in the lower levels of the Undernet. He blinked as one of his attacks simply vanished on contact with one of the viruses, it's partner shielding the blow. This elicited a evil grin from Forte, whom seemed suddenly delighted.   
  
Even if there was nothing of interest at the true bottom of the Undernet, Forte thought to himself, the challenge these strange new viruses posed made the job almost worth it alone. It had so long since he had actually had so much FUN!   
  
***  
  
Momoko, not exactly sure *what* the Breeder was, but not in any mood to complain about a change in subject, readily agreed. That was, until Serenade explained further.  
  
"Keep me away from those things!" Momoko screamed, back to the wall. "I don't want to have anything to do with Viruses!"  
  
"Miss Momoko, it's alright! There is no way that they can hurt you while I am around." Serenade tried to calm Momoko. "I've been raising them for several years. As long as I am here, they cannot touch you."  
  
"But...the last time I saw a Virus..."  
  
"I saved you and brought you here. There is no need to be afraid." Serenade pointed out.  
  
"A-All right...just this once."  
  
The two walked into a large chamber, someplace deep in the pyramidal structure that Serenade called home.   
  
Momoko gasped again, this time barely containing a sudden onrush of fear. Hovering over thier heads in little bubbles were hundreds upon hundreds of Viruses.   
  
"Don't worry. They're all in stasis right now..." Serenade explained. "We have a copy of every known virus in here, including several that have 'gone extinct' back on the normal Internet. "  
  
"Why did you want me to see these th-things?" Momoko asked nervously, eyeing a group of hornet-like viruses that seemed sheathed in electricity.   
  
"We may be here a while, trying to figure out how to get you home," Serenade replied. "So I thought you should learn to protect yourself...in case I am not around."  
  
"But I don't want..."  
  
Again, Serenade reached out a hand and placed it on Momoko's head. Seconds later, Momoko felt a srange force flow through her body. A wispy yellow glow began to highlight Momoko's figure, before it grew outward until it was a full sphere, completely surrounding Momoko.  
  
"While you have that Aura program protecting you, most viruses simply cannot harm you. Only the most powerful are capable of peircing it, and we won't use them. All I want you to try for not is to learn to dodge." Serenade said seriously.  
  
"You're nuts." Momoko angrily muttered, though she couldn't deny the logic of her request. "Fine."  
  
"Alright." Serenade nodded, and summoned up a small control panel in front of her. Typing in a few commands, three viruses floated down from the sky, and landed on the ground near Momoko. One looked immobile, like some form of artillery tower, another floated around like a ghost, smoke trailing from it as it moved, and lastly was a small, hard-hat with feet. All of them seemed to virbrate slightly, as if a strange force was restraining them, holding them back.  
  
Momoko gave an involuntary shudder at the hat as it peeked out at her, remembering her close encounter with a group of them when she first appeared online. When Forte had appeared, simultaneously saving and crippling her...  
  
"Are you ready?" Serenade asked. "Remember, just try to dodge them. They can't hurt you, but treat them as if they could."  
  
  
  
"That's easy enough," Momoko muttered. "I'm ready."  
  
A press of a key later, and the strange force that had held the viruses back was gone. The hard-hat like virus (a "Metool", Serenade explained) rapidly moved to face Momoko, lifting a previously unseen pick into the air and slamming it down into the ground, firing a small shockwave across the ground towards Momoko. Heart in her throat, Momoko jumped to the side, easily sidestepping the attack, just in time to notice the tower lock onto her with a laser-red cross-hair.   
  
Momoko felt the impact of the Cannon's attack surge over the shield. "Be careful where you move to!" Serenade called. "Cannons can only harm you if you appear in thier line of sight, which is limited. Keep that in mind as you move."  
  
  
  
Momoko nodded, only to feel the sudden push of a strike from behind. She whirled around, zipping away from the Cannon, just in time to notice the Ghosty vanish before her. It re-appeared near the Met, seemingly mocking her.  
  
"Nice try." Momoko growled at the ghost. "You won't get me again!" Jumping over another shockwave, she kept her eyes on the Ghosty, this time sliding to the side just after the Ghosty vanished.  
  
Serenade watched appreciatively as the practice progressed. True to her word, Momoko hadn't been hit since the Ghosty's sneak attack. Not bad at all, she thought, watching Momoko's reaction time drop with every attack.   
  
For the next hour, Serenade consistently increased the difficulty of the scenarios, placing Momoko into every situation she could safely fail within the limits of the Aura. Slowly at first, but rapidly accelerating, the session ended with a surprise, all-sides sneak attack from six different virus types, at which point Momoko finally lost control and the session ended. Momoko's total hit count was a mere 12.  
  
  
  
"Wow." Serenade resisted the urge to gape. Momoko sat on the floor, panting in exaustion, the Aura still encompasing her. Dismissing the Viruses back into thier respective bubbles, Serenade dropped Momoko's aura.  
  
"How did you do that?" Serenade asked, though she was pretty sure she already knew, even if Momoko would never admit to it.  
  
"Do what?" momoko asked in return. "I just moved, that's all."  
  
"You moved really fast for a human." Serenade said with a smile. 'Too fast.' She thought.  
  
"Did I? I thought the other viruses were slowing down for me." Momoko said with an embarrased smile. "Crazy, huh?"  
  
"I guess." Serenade replied, also smiling. Inside though, she was furiously trying to peice together the puzzle that Momoko was.   
  
***  
  
  
  
"So, Trevor of the Overnet. What brings you and you Navi here into our home?" Genji Founder asked of the boy as he strode into the Founder's meeting chamber. Only three of the Five Founders were present, Chrono, Genji, and Aegis.  
  
"Forte has been here. I am searching for him." Trevor replied simply.  
  
"Forte is not here anymore. He came searching for information and as a customer, I gave it to him." Aegis replied, staring at the loud-mouthed teen boy. "If you want to find him, I suggest you look elsewhere or expect to pay the same price that Forte did."  
  
"I am not here to pay criminals." Trevor frowned. "Tell me where he is."  
  
"You will get nothing from us." Genji Founder declared, "As long as you keep up that attitude." To make a point, Genji and Chrono's Navis moved forward slightly, not-so-subtly placing themselves next to thier respective Users. "Do not make us use force."  
  
  
  
"What force?" Trevor asked, looking confused. "I don't see anything in here threatening..."  
  
Genji's eye twitched. "Leave now. We will give you no further warning."  
  
"Good. I won't give you a warning at all." Trevor smiled, as Fenrir suddenly blurred into motion, a stroke of blue lightning between both Chrono and Genji's Navi. He stopped, tiny pieces of crystal ice scattering to the floor, in front of Aegis, light gleaming from his eyes.  
  
"Runderjaht! Stop that Navi!" Chrono yelled. The intended reciepient of that message didn't stir, however. "What on earth?! I said to-"  
  
Chrono's Navi split in three, whirling in the air like shredded paper as the shockwave from Fenrir's charge tore through him. Genji's navi suffered a similar fate, collapsing to the ground even as thier forms burst into light and vanished. Chrono and Genji paniced, thier bodies rapidly vanishing as they Logged Out of the system.  
  
"Fenrir, Dimension Lock!" Trevor yelled as Aegis prepared to do the same, hopefully with his own Navi intact. Fenrir's crystal body gleamed once again, light flashing in all directions until the entire server around them seemed warped and distorted.   
  
Aegis paniced. He tried to Log-Out...tried again...and again...but nothing worked!  
  
"What did you-OOOMPH!" Aegis's outburst was cut short as Fenrir back-handed him into the wall. It didn't actually hurt the man, who despite being stuck in the server as he was, but the force of the blow gave his computer a great deal of stress trying to keep up.   
  
"Now, Founder...you said you gave Forte some information. I think I'd like to know everything about that little conversation now...please?  
  
Five minutes later, and Trevor was charging through the undernet, hot on the Outcast's trail...  
  
***  
  
"...I'm on the trail again. Forte heading towards the Heart of the Undernet server - he's investigating it as payment to the Founders for Marduk's Real-World location. He doesn't actually have it, though," Trevor's message read. "A pity...I'd almost like to see what Forte'd do to that bastard. I expect to find him before long."   
  
  
  
Mr Bates grinned. "Bastard, eh? That's funny. But this is surprising. Forte heading towards the heart of the Undernet itself? I wonder...has he remembered what lies down there, or is he truly going blind?"  
  
"If that Guardian is still there, conflict will inevitably break out between the two, and possibly with Trevor as well, if he can catch up. Hehehe....This is way better than I could have dreamed..."  
  
On a nearby screen, a small wire-frame of a program appeared, appearing no more than a simple shard of ice.  
  
"The Guardian, Forte, and even the Internet itself may fall at the conclusion of this new battle." Bates grinned. "And it will, if the program I gave Trevor does it's job..."  
  
"It will be beautiful...once it finds the GigaFreeze program...the 'Ice-9'..."  
  
***  
  
"No..." Serenade gasped, as if a unheard voice was speaking into her mind. "It's back." Momoko looked at her, confused, before Serenade quickly teleported the two of them back to the bedroom where Momoko had first awoken. "Stay here! The Demon Navi has been detected at the main gate!" Serenade turned, winking out of existence as she teleported away.  
  
"NO! Stop!" Momoko yelled as Serenade vanished. "Serenade! The Demon...Forte...he's not our enemy anymore! He's my friend! Forte! Please....come back! Oh, Why din't I tell her when I had the chance...SERENADE, COME BACK!"  
  
And Forte, oblivious to the danger awaiting him, prepared to blast through the security locks, the locks that would open Arucard to all the world... 


End file.
